Part 2: Walking The Path 第2篇：行道

　　2-3. Stages of Practice 修学阶段

　　2-3-5. Miscellaneous 其它

　　(DON'T BE ATTACHED TO SCRIPTURES 勿泥执经典)

　　A problem that I would like to draw your attention to is that most of us tend to be attached to the scriptures, which is good, it's not that it's bad, but we should reflect with awareness and wisdom.

　　我提一个你们会感兴趣的问题：我们大多数人都喜欢经典，那是好事，不是坏事，但我们必须用觉性及智慧来思惟经义。

　　To give an example : It is generally believed that one gets rewarded so and so much for making merit, being generous and keeping precepts ; my parents believed that and myself, I have made merit, made offerings, kept precepts, supported an ordination, helped to erect a temple, a hall and dwelling places, but I still didn't know what merit really is.

　　举个例子，一般人都相信，一个人做功德、布施或持戒多少，就会相对地得到多少的回报；我和我父母都相信这个说法，我也不断地做功德、布施、持戒，或者护持剃度典礼，帮助建设寺院、大殿及寮房等，但我仍然不知道究竟什么是功德。

　　When I was a kid, my parents told me one gets lots of merit by putting food into a monks bowl ; one recieves results for centuries. But in reality, aeons or centuries are a figurative way of talking of people in the past and it has been handed down to clarify the Dhamma, so that people with the divine eye and ear would see. People with the divine eye and ear are people with awareness and wisdom, the kind of wisdom that is able to pierce the outer bark of phenomena until seeing the truth in its entirety. It is not the divine eye and ear as we generally understand it.

　　当我还是个小孩时，我父母亲告诉我：供养食物在比丘的钵里可以得到很多的功德；他可以得到好几世纪的果报。但实际上，所谓的数劫或数世纪，是以前的人在沟通时的一种计量方式，而这些东西被流传了下来，用以阐明佛法，好让那些具足圣眼及圣耳的人们能够明了。所谓具足圣眼及圣耳的人就是指具有觉性与智慧的人，这种智慧能够洞穿现象的表层，而究竟亲见真理。这里所谓的圣眼及圣耳不是我们一般所了解的天眼及天耳。

　　(BLOOMING WITH THE LIGHT OF DHAMMA 随法光明绽开)

　　Let me stress again that having come here, we should make ourselves into the best type of rice, putting all our effort and intelligence into it. When we've heard the instructions and teachings, we should comprehend it and remember it. Make yourself into a flower fully in bud ; when it recieves sunlight, it blooms straight away. All of us here, the same : if we have enough intelligence, we're ready to mature and bloom just like that flower.

　　让我再次强调：既然来到了这儿，我们必须让自己成为最好的稻米，尽自己一切的努力和智慧来达成。当我们听了开示和教导，应该要进一步去理解并记牢，使自己成为一朵完全长成而含苞待放的花，一接受阳光照射，立即盛开。我们这里的所有人也一样，如果聪明的话，就应该要让自已成熟并像花一般的盛开绽放。

　　The teachings of the Buddha compares with sunlight that exists already. If we practice in the right way, the results of practice and Nibbana will appear. On the contrary, even though the teachings and code of conduct laid down by the Buddha exist ; if we don't practice accordingly, we definitely won't reap the fruits of practice or Nibbana.

　　佛陀的教导就像本来具足的阳光，只要我们正确的练习，修习的种种成果及终极涅槃自然会出现。相反地，如果我们没有依之修习，即使佛陀传下来的教法及戒律仍然存在，我们也绝对不会获得任何修习的成果与涅槃。

　　(FILLING UP A PIT 芝麻满坑)

　　Let's reflect on the belief that we have to perfect certain qualities in search of Nibbana by filling up a big pond, throwing sesame seeds in the pit, hole or pond ; one seed at a time, until it is full. This obviously takes a long time. Believing this is to take it literally without using wisdom ; someone like that doesn't have the divine eye and ear. Filling up a pit 100 leagues wide, 100 leagues deep with sesame seeds, one seed every 100 years - 1 year in heaven equals 100 years on earth - an angel comes to throw it in ; when it's full this is called one aeon. The real meaning of this that can be practiced, is that the filling up of the pond with the sesame seeds is to develop awareness by turning the hand up and down, having awareness every moment is the meaning of each sesame seed, when awareness is perfected, there is no more suffering, in other words the pit is full. So people with the divine eye and ear try to do this all the time in order to perfect awareness, concentration and wisdom, and they don't let time get wasted.

　　让我们反思一下这个我们信受的想法：「若欲寻求涅槃，必须丢芝麻到一个坑洞、洞穴或池塘里，而且一次只能丢一粒，一直丢到它满为止，这样我们才能圆满某些质素而得到涅槃。」这显然需要很长很长的时间，人们会相信这个想法就是因为只从字面上去理解，而没有运用智慧，这样的人不具有圣眼及圣耳。一个天神丢芝麻到一个200里格(约300哩)宽，100里格深的坑洞，而且每100年(天上一年等于人间百年)丢一粒，直到把坑洞填满，这样叫做一劫。这个说法就修行来说，它的真实意义是这样的：“芝麻填坑”的意思是要我们藉由翻手覆手等动作来培养觉性；“一粒粒的芝麻”代表时时刻刻要有觉性；当觉性圆满的时候，就不会再有苦，换句话说，就等于“填满了坑洞”。所以具有圣眼及圣耳的人会随时随地努力练习来圆满自己的觉性、定力和智慧，不会白白浪费时间。

　　(DON'T JUST TALK WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING 莫唯空谈不求真知)

　　It is the same with merit, demerit, hell, heaven and Nibbana : we tend to misunderstand the true meaning ; we tend to believe that after making merit we get reborn as something or other in heaven. People who say that heaven is like this and like that with many different levels, are only just talking but they don't know for themselves, they've read it in a book, they remember it and tell others without reflecting or investigating the truth of it properly.

　　But somebody with the divine eye and ear will comprehend the matter instantly, having examined it.

　　功德、罪恶、地狱、天堂与涅槃也是一样，我们都误解了它们的真实意义：我们相信做了功德之后将来可以投生到天堂或得到什么东西。那些说天堂是这样、那样而且分为很多层天的人，只是嘴巴说说而自己并没有真正了解，他们只是在书里读过并记住这些知识，并没有进一步加以思惟或正确地检证它们的真实性，然后就轻率地向别人传述这些说法。具有圣眼及圣耳的人听了看了就会随即去思惟理解那件事，并予以检证。

　　(CONSIDERING THE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES 论评经典)

　　The reason that there are these wrong beliefs is that the Buddha passed away a long time ago and in the time of the Buddha there was no writing, not even during the first few councils after the passing away of the Buddha and the eras were far apart from each other. Only at the fifth council were the teachings recorded in script ; this was as much as 450 years after the passing away of the Buddha : that's a very long tirne ! Those who were present at this latter council may really have known the teachings and code of conduct completely or to some extent, or i t may be that they didn't really know but only knew from memory and recorded it as they could remember it. And then people in modern times believe according to what they hear and read in books.

　　会有这些错误想法的原因是：佛陀入灭已有很长的时间，而在佛陀的时代并没有文字，甚至佛陀入灭后最初几次经典结集的期间也都还没有文字，而且每次结集的年代都相隔得非常久远，(这么长的期间当中，经典一直是藉耳闻口传的方式流传，)一直到第五次结集才把佛陀的教导用文字记载成册，这已经是佛陀入灭后450年了，已过了一段非常长的时间！那些出席此次结集的人可能已经完全或某种程度上了解了正法律，但也可能他们并没有真正了解而只是依见闻记忆而知，并将他们所记得的纪录下来，而现在的人又直接相信从这些经典听来和看来的东西(，所以就产生了一些错误的想法)。

　　The Buddhist scriptures, that we take these days to be the reference or authority, are good, it is not that they are not good but how much has disappeared, been adjusted and been added to it, is hard to guess. Just think of yourself, having grown up to have your present age, who can remember the first word that your parents spoke to you, what did they say ? Just that much, we can't even remember and it's not even as long ago as 100 years !

　　我们现在当作参考或依凭的佛教经典是好的，并不是它们不好；但其中有多少已经散失、被窜改或乃至被增添进去的呢？这已难以评断了！想想你自己吧！你长大到这个年纪，谁还记得你父母告诉你的第一个字呢？或他们说了什么呢？就只那么长而已，连一百年都不到呢！我们就记不得了，何况佛陀入灭了这么久！

　　Somebody with the divine eye and ear will see the truth as it is and will see through the books and information, he or she will view what is the genuine truth and will have the chance to realize and really know the things that the Buddha taught for us to practice without having to believe anybody or any scriptures whatsoever. I believe that this very way of developing awareness will give people the wisdom to come to realisation and real insight.

　　具有圣眼及圣耳的人能够如实知见真理，并且会看透经典及其中传递的信息；他会观察什么是真正的真理，因而能有机会觉悟与如实真知佛陀给我们的教导，亦即：我们可以自力修行而不需要信靠任何人或任何经典等等外在的任何东西。我相信这个培养觉性的方法必然会让人开启智慧，而达到证悟和真实的洞见。